Blood donation fears inventory: development and validation of a measure of fear specific to the blood donation setting

Background and ObjectivesAlthough individual differences in fear of stimuli related to blood donation is a key determinant of donor recruitment and retention, a donation-specific fear measure has yet to be developed.Materials and MethodsA donation-related fear measure was developed and tested on an initial sample of donors and non-donors, and then re-evaluated on a second sample to confirm the observed factor structure.ResultsAnalyses supported a four-factor structure, with subscales related to fear of: (1) syncopal symptoms, (2) blood and needles, (3) social evaluation, and (4) health screen results.ConclusionThe Blood Donation Fears Inventory is a novel measure to assess fears held by current and potential blood donors.     

Novel nonnucleoside inhibitor of hepatitis C virus RNA-dependent RNA polymerase

A novel nonnucleoside inhibitor of hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp), [(1R)-5-cyano-8-methyl-1-propyl-1,3,4,9-tetrahydropyano[3,4-b]indol-1-yl] acetic acid (HCV-371), was discovered through high-throughput screening followed by chemical optimization. HCV-371 displayed broad inhibitory activities against the NS5B RdRp enzyme, with 50% inhibitory concentrations ranging from 0.3 to 1.8 microM for 90% of the isolates derived from HCV genotypes 1a, 1b, and 3a. HCV-371 showed no inhibitory activity against a panel of human polymerases, including mitochondrial DNA polymerase gamma, and other unrelated viral polymerases, demonstrating its specificity for the HCV polymerase. A single administration of HCV-371 to cells containing the HCV subgenomic replicon for 3 days resulted in a dose-dependent reduction of the steady-state levels of viral RNA and protein. Multiple treatments with HCV-371 for 16 days led to a >3-log10 reduction in the HCV RNA level. In comparison, multiple treatments with a similar inhibitory dose of alpha interferon resulted in a 2-log10 reduction of the viral RNA level. In addition, treatment of cells with a combination of HCV-371 and pegylated alpha interferon resulted in an additive antiviral activity. Within the effective antiviral concentrations of HCV-371, there was no effect on cell viability and metabolism. The intracellular antiviral specificity of HCV-371 was demonstrated by its lack of activity in cells infected with several DNA or RNA viruses. Fluorescence binding studies show that HCV-371 binds the NS5B with an apparent dissociation constant of 150 nM, leading to high selectivity and lack of cytotoxicity in the antiviral assays.     

Predictive Validity of the Global Assessment Form Used in a Final-year Undergraduate Rotation in Emergency Medicine

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether the predictive validity of Global Assessment Form (GAF) knowledge subdomain marks exceeds that of the overall GAF marks with respect to written examination marks for an undergraduate rotation in emergency medicine, and to determine the interdependence between subdomain marks on the GAF. METHODS: Final-year clinical clerks completing a four-week rotation through the emergency departments of a university teaching center were evaluated using both a ten-subdomain GAF for clinical performance and an independent written examination. The GAF and examination marks were prospectively obtained for clinical clerks over a two-year period. Pearson correlations were calculated between examination marks and both the GAF knowledge subdomain and the GAF overall mark. Olkin's Z score was calculated to determine the significance of the difference between correlations. Interdependencies between subdomains of the GAF were calculated using an alpha coefficient and inter-item correlations. RESULTS: Data sets were reviewed for 347 clinical clerks. Nine sets of data were excluded (incomplete evaluations); 338 sets were analyzed. Means for overall clinical mark and examination mark were 80.11% (SD = 4.375) and 81 (SD = 7.66). Among subdomains, knowledge had the highest correlation with the examination mark (0.19). Overall clinical marks had lower correlation with the examination marks (0.169); the difference was not significant (Olkin's Z = 0.40). The correlation of the examination marks with the average marks of all subdomains excluding knowledge was even lower (0.12). The tenitem alpha for the GAF was 0.92. CONCLUSIONS: Clinical GAF assessments of knowledge, as measured by written examination, do not appear to be any more predictive than overall clinical impression. There is substantial consistency between subdomain scores, suggesting that assessors are not effectively discriminating between them when assigning marks.     

A review of the health promotion and health beliefs of traditional and Project 2000 student nurses

In this study it was proposed that a more rigorous theoretical component in nursing education courses would produce a nurse who was a proficient health educator and promotor of health A sound knowledge base will enable the student to develop positive attitudes and beliefs towards promoting health and providing health education as a part of nursing practice To test this hypothesis, two groups of students were asked to complete a questionnaire and the answers subsequently compared The results and data analysis supported the hypothesis only in a limited way and a further study on a larger group of students would provide greater insight into the question     

Clinical role activities of nurse teachers in Project 2000 programmes

This paper presents the findings related to the clinical role activities of nurse teachers in Project 2000 programmes Data were collected by a Delphi survey of 25 colleges of nursing that had implemented Project 2000 between September 1989 and April 1991 The findings from the Delphi survey were explored more fully through in-depth interviews with a sample of the respondents The findings identified a very strong commitment of the respondents to a clinical liaison role But they did not perceive their role to be one of teaching students through 'hands on care', they felt this was the role of the qualified staff in the clinical areas The respondents considered it important to maintain their clinical credibility through theoretical updating rather than being able to perform as an expert practitioner     

THE ROLE OF METHIONINE DEFICIENCY IN POLIOVIRUS REPLICATION IN TISSUE CULTURES

The role of methionine in poliovirus infection in HeLa and monkey kidney cells was investigated by using the methionine analogue l-ethionine. In the presence of 2.0 x 10^–3 and 4.0 x 10^–3 moles ethionine, the growth of HeLa and monkey kidney cells was significantly inhibited. Under the same experimental conditions, ethionine had no significant effect on the biosynthesis of two strains of poliovirus (Mahoney and Lansing) in HeLa cells, whereas in primary monkey kidney cells, it markedly inhibited the biosynthesis of the Lansing strain of poliovirus. HeLa cells partly depleted of their intracellular amino acids did not change the rate of viral biosynthesis. The inhibitory effect of ethionine on cell growth and viral biosynthesis was reversed by addition of an excess of l-methionine.     

The morning tea break ritual: A case study

Many nursing scholars have examined the negative effects of rituals in nursing practice, and have argued for nurses to abolish these ritual practices; however, rituals remain resilient. There must be reasons that nurses are keeping these rituals alive. This study aimed to explore the meanings of the 'morning tea break ritual' to a group of nurses in a medical ward. The study employed an ethnographic methodology and found that the morning tea break ritual provided time, space and an environment where nurses can ventilate their feelings and gain each other's support. Thus, the morning tea break ritual has positive contribution to nurses' work and both nurses and patients are the beneficiaries of this ritual act.